Communist Bloc Nations
This map also includes areas that are only nominally under the control of the Communist Bloc, such as areas the People's Republic of China continues to contest with the Atomic Kingdom, areas claimed by the Socialist states of the Levant that are being contested by the GLA or are secretly influenced and parts of the Soviet Union and Mongolia that while nominally under communist control, are actually occupied by the unknown forces. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Armenian SSR The Armenian SSR is an industrial powerhouse, contributing large amounts of steel and other materials to the USSR's reserves. Many native Armenians consider this a source of pride, and it is commonly said throughout the Union that Armenian workers, whether they make televisions or munitions, are some of the best. Urbanization is increasing, with Yerevan being considered by local and national party leaders to be chosen for renovation as a Comrade's City, although large amounts of grassland and plains remain, due to the continued importance of agriculture. Education has also made tremendous strides, with universities located within the Armenian SSR contributing many able scientists and engineers to the Ministry of Experimental Science, including renowned physicist Dr. Anton Vanko. Even more, the Armenian language has finally been designated as the official language of the SSR, marking the overturn of Stalin's long-time ban of the language within official circles. Armenian culture is openly celebrated (so long as it doesn't usurp the loyalty of citizens to the larger Soviet Union), the people are allowed to practice their religion freely, and the activity of the secret police is kept at a minimum. However, tensions still remain between Turkey and the Armenian SSR, whose people have not forgotten the horror inflicted upon their parents and grandparents. Despite pleas from the Soviet government, Turkey, now a member of the Allied Nations, has never taken accountability for its actions during WWI. The Allies, although they have a commitment to human rights and denounce mass murder, are reluctant to press Turkey to own up to the Mec Yegern ("Great Crime"), due to the fear that the Turkish government will revoke the Allies' access to bases within that nation. Many Allied civilians, particularly within the United States, dismiss these fears as "bogus", and lobby hard for Allied pressure on Turkey. This does not bode well with Soviet Armenians either, with some riots even breaking out in protest of the Turkish government, requiring local militias to quell the violence. Also, the Republic is finding itself increasingly subjected to GLA and Talon activity, with some high-level assassinations and bomb threats being thwarted by local KGB operatives between 1967 and 1969. Geopolitical analysts and experts on International Studies have concluded that these are the main reasons the USSR has a large military force stationed near the Turkish border with the Armenian SSR. Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan SSR was established on April 28th, 1920 after the surrender of the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to local Bolsheviks led by Mirza Davud and Nariman Narimanov and the invasion of the Bolshevik 11th Red Army. Azerbaijan had many natural gas and oil reserves, supplying the Red Army with oil. This fact was enough for the Allies to try an air raid on the Baku oil rigs during WWII, which failed due to the efforts of the Baku Air Defence Army. By 1960, however, the oil reserves on land had dried out, and with the finding of other oil reserves to the east, Azerbaijan suffered an economic crisis, although this has been mitigated somewhat by Vodnik Rocket Arsenal's moving of their entire operation to Baku after their original facility in Vladivostok was razed to the ground by the Empire of the Rising Sun in WWIII. Azerbaijan is also the target of GLA cells from the Iranian border at the south. Azerbaijan enjoys a certain religious freedom, unlike the forced atheism in other Soviet nations. The Azerbaijan oil rigs are still important to the Soviet economy, never the less. In addition, Azerbaijan is the site of several of the Union’s major petrochemical refineries, with oil traveling up pipelines from Iran for refinement, and plans are under way to expand them. Another thing which the Azerbaijan SSR is known for is its near nonexistent corruption. Bribery is dealt with a harsh hand, the police are ruthless when it comes to the black market, and illegal merchandise is destroyed on sight. The Azerbaijan SSR secret police is known for its brutal efficiency. Byelorussian SSR Although most Westerners and even a good deal of Soviets don't know it, the Byelorussian SSR was possibly the hardest hit region of the Soviet Union during World Wars II and III. A majority of the SSR's cities were devastated by Allied bombers, a whopping 45% of Byelorussian industry was wiped out and an estimated tenth of the population was killed in the most violent conflicts of human history. These numbers do not take into account the political terror Stalin inflicted on the region. According to the latest census from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the population of the Republic will not reach its pre-war level until 1971. To add insult to injury, the SSR has been demographically deformed by the effects of Stalin's "Russification" policy. Ethnic Russians only make up 1% of the SSR's population, yet have historically accounted for a majority of people in key government positions in the country. Both Belorussian language and culture have been permitted to be used or expressed in public only recently. Sociologists warn that these facts may have generated wide-spread bitterness and resentment towards the Party and Soviet government in general among Belorussians, pointing towards numerous instances of vandalism directed towards Soviet flags and posters and graffiti denouncing the government and Russians in general. Yet, both institutions ignore these claims. If the Byelorussian SSR can revive its broken manufacturing industry and ruined cities, they say, the Belorussian people will forget their sorrow and enthusiastically march under the flag of the USSR. Indeed, it seems a good deal of Belorussians already consider themselves devoted Soviet citizens. For example, the famed Belorussian poet, Maxim Tank, has earned the approval of Party leaders to the extent that he was made Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR in 1965. Others try to demonstrate their patriotism in other ways. Many Byelorussian factories produce equipment for the Red Army; here, ADK-45 rifles, GSf-30-1 cannons, Hammer Tanks, MiG Fighters and other symbols of Soviet military might are produced in quantities second only to the Russian SFSR. The SSR also has produced many notable athletes, such as Volha Korbut, who is scheduled to compete in the USSR gymnastics championships later this year. Hopefully, the loyalty and talents of individuals such as these will overshadow any anti-Soviet sentiments and desires for revenge within certain segments of the Byelorussian people. This is especially important, because the KGB has taken an interest in reports that Allied intelligence has been in contact with disaffected Belorussians. If such reports are true, it is entirely possible that the misery that has long-plagued the country will only tighten its grip on the SSR. Estonian SSR When the small Baltic state of Estonia was first occupied by the Soviets in 1940, the countries that would go on to form the Allied Nations refused to recognize the newly-formed Estonian SSR, reserving that treatment for exiled members of the democratic Estonian government. In fact, many Estonians living under Soviet rule would also consider the government-in-exile their true representative. Tensions between Soviet authorities and the Estonian people have been pre eminent throughout the SSR's existence, as the USSR essentially stripped the industrialised nation of its infrastructure and relocated it elsewhere. Nationalisation of banks and desecration of Estonian graveyards and war memorials followed, leading to the virtual collapse of the Estonian economy and the humiliation of the nation's patriots. Some outside observers have referred to the Soviet annexation and rule of the Estonian SSR as "internal colonialism", a charge that the Party vehemently denies to this day. Naturally, many Estonians were outraged by their treatment at the hands of the Soviet authorities, but only a few were willing to do something about it. Dominated largely by ethnic Russians and Estonians born in Russia (pejoratively called "Yestonians", due to their accents), the SSR has found itself subjected to the highest rate of rebel activity in any republic of the Union. The Red Army and the KGB work in conjunction to crush the notorious "forest brothers", believed to be made up of a combination of Estonian civilians and ex-Allied and Finnish soldiers. Recent reports indicate the "forest brothers" have contacted the Confederate Revolutionaries, no doubt to make common cause with them and gain access to their primitive-yet-effective weapons and technology. This has the indirect effect of furthering the plight of the Estonian people, who live in an environment subjected to a level of de facto martial law unheard of even within the sister republics. Even the SSR's seashores are closed off to civilians, on account of them being needed to shelter the Soviet Baltic Fleet's Akula Submarines and Dreadnoughts. On a lighter note, however, the Soviet government has finally allowed Estonians imprisoned in the gulags under Stalin to return to their homeland. With the democratic socialist Davidova coming to power in Moscow, it is hoped that she will further work to mend any ill will between Soviet occupational authorities and the people of the Estonian SSR. Either way, the issue of the "forest brothers" and other Estonian rebels will need to be addressed at some point; whether with diplomacy or with terror, only time will tell. Georgian SSR "My beauty, do not sing for me The songs of Georgia, of grievance: My thoughts immediately flee To another life and shores in distance" :- Alexander Pushkin The Georgian SSR has gained widespread notoriety throughout the USSR for being the birthplace of not only Joseph Stalin, but also his fourth and most brutal chief of secret police, Lavrentiy Beria. Even though Georgians suffered as much as their non-Georgian comrades at the hands of Stalin, many Soviet citizens harbour resentment towards them anyway. Reports of prejudice and even hate crimes against Georgians are common throughout the Union, with it becoming such a problem that Premier Davidova herself had to create a special division of the MVD dedicated to combating such activity. The fact that a veteran KGB agent, a Leo Demidov, was transferred to head this division suggests the government takes the problem very seriously. It is speculated that this rash of anti-Georgian sentiment led to a number of them resolving to fight for the Allies in WWIII, under the banner of the "Georgian Legion". This action only worsened the perception of Georgians in the eyes of many Soviets', who could care less that as many as 900,000 Georgians died in the service of the Red Army during World Wars II and III. The hatred was so intense that after the war, veritable race riots broke out in the SSR, and the government had to deploy Hammer Tank and Sickle divisions in Tbilisi and other cities to protect the Georgian populace. It does not help that the SSR is notorious for corruption, with local Party officials being convicted of taking bribes from Georgian gangsters, Allied spies and in some cases, Syndicate operatives. The MVD is currently investigating rumours of a massive capitalist "shadow economy" that operates alongside the state-approved command economy, which unfortunately advances the stereotype of Georgians as unpatriotic capitalists. Some say that the ghost of Stalin looms over the Georgian SSR, unwilling to surrender the power to cause grief and terror even in death. With a heavy military presence that continues to this day, the people of the Georgian SSR struggle to redeem themselves for the crimes of a few of their number. To that end, they work tirelessly to make textiles and refine oil, to show that they are as loyal to the Soviet Union as any other Soviet citizen. Georgian students work tirelessly at their studies, garnering the highest rate of citizens with high or secondary education throughout the Union. Most notably, Georgians are overrepresented in the infantry divisions of the Red Army. To prove their devotion to the Party and the Revolution, many Georgians rush to enlist in the nation's vast conscript reserves. As the spectre of war once again approaches, it may offer a chance for the people of the Georgian SSR to finally abandon Stalin's legacy of terror and be properly welcomed as a sister republic of the USSR. Kazakh SSR The second largest republic in the Soviet Union, the Kazakh SSR is the proverbial land of contrasts. The republic's capital, Alma-Ata, is a modern city with streets crowded by public transportation walkers and an airport that frequently services the mighty planes and zeppelins of the Union's civilian air fleet. Yet once one walks outside the city for a few miles, they will probably pass through a few villages, largely untouched by contemporary Soviet science and culture, before becoming lost in the vast Kazakh Steppe. With its wide expanses of untapped grassland, the Kazakh SSR has become the target of Party efforts to increase agriculture, leading to a massive propaganda campaign to lure non-Kazakhs to the SSR to work as wheat farmers. Due to this, the number of Russians and other ethnicities in the Kazakh SSR is beginning to outweigh the number of actual Kazakhs in it, with the majority of these immigrants settling in the new city of Tselinograd. The SSR is also home to the Soviet space program, with the Baikonaur Cosmodrome being the site of many rocket launches since 1955. Research faculty were granted a small town around the spaceport for support, further reflecting Soviet attempts to urbanise the country. Beyond this, the Soviet scientific community does not have much investment in the Kazakh SSR, with a notable exception occurring years ago. In 1947, an unidentified orbital object crashed into the Kazakh wilderness, a few miles from a small town in east Kazakhstan. A group of locals went out to investigate but never returned. After several similar disappearances, local authorities sent in Red Army units, only for them to be lost as well. Eventually, the Soviet government simply cordoned off the area as the people began to focus on other, more pressing issues, such as increasing tensions between the USSR and the European nations. Today, however, some locals have made a lucrative hobby of leading the curious past the military patrols and into the "Zone", where it is said one can see the charred remnants of the buses and tanks the unfortunate first visitors rode in (Some braver "tour guides" say they have seen strange vehicles unlike any they have seen before. In one case, someone, possibly a Communist Chinese refugee, noted similarities between the description of the strange vehicles and the advanced "tanks" of the Atomic Kingdom of China, although this report is considered by authorities to be an urban legend). Beyond that, it is unknown what lurks in the Zone. The agrarian-minded and historically nomadic Kazakh people find themselves thrust into a changing, unfamiliar world. For centuries, they contented themselves with tending crops, horse-back riding and racing, and practicing a blend of Islam and a Central Asian polytheism called Tengriism. Today, they are citizens of the second most powerful nation in the world, where their allegiance is expected to extend far beyond their families and historic tribes. Being told that being simple people of the land isn't enough, the people of the Kazakh SSR humbly take on the duty of joining with their cousins in the sister republics of the Soviet Union in revolution and maintain a passive sense of optimism for themselves. Where that optimism will lead them to, no one can say. Kirghiz SSR Latvian SSR The people of Latvia suffer along with the Estonians, living under almost unheard of standards of martial law. As well as the other Baltic states, it is treated as occupied territory more than a sister republic. Lithuanian SSR Moldavian SSR Russian SFSR The heart of the Soviet Empire (a phrase used by the Union’s enemies rather than the Union itself), the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is home to the Union's capital, the official language across the Union, the largest ethnicity within the USSR, and many other things inside the Union. It is also the nation's oldest republic, with it being ostensibly established in 1917 following the October Revolution before formally adopting the name it has today in 1918. It is for this reason that the term "Soviet" has become synonymous with "Russian" in the West and even the Russian SFSR to some degree, although the Union counts many non-Russians as citizens. Despite attempts by the new government of Davidova to encourage participation on the part of local leaders from the smaller SSRs in national affairs, the government is still mainly composed of ethnic Russians. The Russian SFSR has suffered greatly throughout its history, at the hands of Stalin, the Allies and the Empire of the Rising Sun. This long-standing aspect of life in Russia, dating back to the Tsarist era, is being slowly reversed by Davidova. Although there is still much work to be done in this field, the people of Russia and her sister republics rejoice. The people continue to be proud of their country and believe that what they are doing is right, but they are growing weary of the bloodshed. They tire of megalomaniacal leaders who send their young men and now even young women to kill and die while failing to ensure that communism, the force holding the massive nation together, is actually bringing the paradise it promises. With this in mind, they turn their eyes towards Premier Davidova, who they hope that in the event she can't keep the peace, that she can at least bring the people of Russia, her sister republics, and her allies closer to the utopia spoken of by Marx, Engels, and Lenin. If this is so, the people, armed with aging-but-trustworthy weapons, undying zeal, and a sardonic sense of humour, will no doubt gladly lay their lives down for the revolution to come. More surprising is Davidova's moves to open up democracy in the Soviet Union with a so called "Matryoshka" government of nested series of elected Soviets and multiparty elections being promised soon; with the ruling Marxist-Leninist (with some asking if Davidovan should be added to that list) Communist Party being expected to win handily over all of their competitors. Similarly, moves to "return to the true policies of Lenin and Marx and Engels" have proven widely popular as Lenin's new economic policy is reinstated, light industry is being bolstered, the usage of dialectic materialism as a theory of everything is being dropped to put paid to prior support for Lysenkoism and steady state cosmological models, and co-operatives are being allowed to open up to push the Soviet union towards bottom up communism instead of the prior top-down planning. With the Soviet economy undergoing a huge boom and previously conservative social policies are being challenged to allow for a flowering of more libertine social mores, things seem bright for Russia and her sister republics. But many feel that Davidova still has a lot of work to do to break its long history of autocracy. Tajik SSR Turkmen SSR The Turkmen SSR has contributed some of the most brutal and efficient KGB agents, an act by the ruling Supremat Nyezov to placate Moscow. Ukrainian SSR Ukraine has had a long, tough relationship with Russia. When Russia suffered, Ukraine suffered. When Russia starved, Ukraine starved. Even in contemporary times, the Ukrainian SSR finds its situation intertwined with its bigger neighbour, the Russian SFSR. The centuries-old relationship between the two has led many Soviet citizens to jokingly refer to the SSR as the "Brother Republic", playing off the official Party designation of smaller members of the Union as "sister republics". There is more truth to the joke name than one would think, however. Most Ukrainians are in favour of a close relationship with Russia and her sister republics, but they also insist that they handle things their way. A strong contingency in favour of making Ukrainian the official language of the SSR has arisen, with many Party officials arguing that Russian and Ukrainian are already so similar that it wouldn't make sense to do so, an argument that usually ends in a fight with enraged Ukrainians if taken up against one. Memories of Stalin's terror, the Second World War, and the Holodomor, all of which struck the Ukrainian SSR very hard, have made the Ukrainian people reluctant to hand the reins over completely to the Russians and other non-Ukrainians. Nevertheless, the people of Ukraine are optimistic. As they set forth to rebuild their shattered industries and homes and revive their shattered country, the people of Ukraine look to the future with a spirit of adventure, with the SSR being home to the Ministry of Experimental Science's Chernobyl facility, where continued research into magnetic technology, the technology behind the Vacuum Imploder, and technology unknown to civilians and foreign intelligence takes place. Historically a country of farmers, the Ukrainian SSR has also earned the unofficial title of the "bread basket of the Soviet Union" thanks to its bountiful agriculture (the downside being that many throughout the Union perceive Ukrainians as country bumpkins, like the farmer Nikita Khrushchev, who became infamous after he cursed the Desolator Defoliant for destroying his crops). Also, as the second largest ethnicity in the Union, Ukrainians make up a large amount of soldiers in the Red Army, where they have earned a reputation for loyalty, but also colossal tempers that are revealed when others mistakenly refer to them as Russian. Indeed, it seems the historic relationship between the Mother and Brother Republic will continue for a long time. Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan, situated at the very limits of the Soviet union, is flyover country. The western part of it is mush of large plains irrigated by the diminishing waters of the Aral Sea and it is often hard to decipher where the border is with other SSR. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is essentially dry steppes, until you reach the western mountains. While not as underdeveloped as Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, the Uzbek SSR suffers still from the same lack of commodities that plagues the region. Most of the local population prefers leaving when they reach the age to be able to and go study and work in nearby Kazakhstan, which benefits from more subsidies and the presence of strategic soviet state programs, such as the Baikonur cosmodrome. However, it has other problems to think about ; the proximity of Afghanistan has proven to be a hazard since the rise of the GLA in the area, many members of whom exchange weapons (and occasionally fire) on the way to attacking Iranian shia Muslims, and occasionally go as far as raiding Soviet outposts for equipment. Current Bulgaria Bulgaria is treated very well for a nation of the new Eastern Block. Given it's historical ties to Russia and similar language, the nation has been given respect even when Stalin occupied in in WWII. Even now, it contributes large amounts of thugs for the KGB and training commandos in the Red Army. This has given it a reputation as a country of bootlickers among nations such Finland and Poland. Czechoslovakia At the front of reform in the Eastern Bloc is Czechoslovakia. Led by the dynamic Alexander Dubcek, the country is widely noted for its adoption of "Socialism With A Human Face", a policy developed and enacted by Dubcek. Many Czechoslovakian citizens were sceptical of Dubcek at first, given the country's long-beloved traditions of democracy and capitalism that lasted up to and between the Soviet occupational periods. The fact that he was approved by Soviet authorities impressed them even less, but his leadership quickly changed their minds. Dubcek demonstrated that a country could have both equality and personal (if not quite private) property and instated multiparty parliamentary democracy; with the social democrats and council communists forming a loyal opposition to the ruling Democratic-Socialist and Syndicalist coalition government; though socialism is consitutionally enshrined, with the notion that personal property is compatible with communism being challenged by many hard-line communists within the Eastern Bloc. Civil rights and political expression are also abundant in the country, leading to praise from even the staunchest anti-communist members of the Allied Nations. One notable filmmaker is even making a highly-anticipated satire about a teenage boy who works at a train station during the first Soviet occupation, with many film critics wondering and possibly worrying how it will treat the Soviets. Another first was the state-sponsored visit of American Beat poet, Allen Ginsberg, in 1968, much to the shock of other Soviet-affiliated republics and even the Allied Nations. It is unknown how long the "Prague Spring" will last, but the Czechoslovakian people certainly hope it lasts a long time, especially as Davidova is an enthusiastic ideological supporter and the young woman has many decades in her left. But, there are some to whom "Socialism With A Human Face" isn't enough. To them, the nation has been forced into an immoral, foreign system, no matter how benevolent it appears or what it calls itself. They can't trust the pro-Soviet Dubcek, but they can't trust the cowardly Allies who let their country fall behind the Iron Curtain either. They can only trust others who have been knocked down by forces greater than them. Thus, many Czechoslovakians have found common cause with the Confederate Revolutionaries, and it is rumoured that the Confederates have drawn up plans to take advantage of the relaxed attitude in Czechoslovakia to strike a blow at the Soviet alliance. Additionally, the Mediterranean Syndicate has taken an interest in Dubcek's private-property-friendly Czechoslovakia, with it being whispered that some Syndicate analysts speak of it as "the key to the Soviet Union". If this is true, the consequences could be catastrophic for those in the Eastern Bloc who believe in "Socialism With A Human Face". East Germany "What a tremendously uncertain world that a pig must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. Because our lumbering foe has an instinct for decadence and filth second to none ... and that is what a capitalist shares with a pig." ''- Stasi Colonel Hans Landa, the "Capitalist Hunter"'' One of the more recent "additions" to the Soviet power bloc, East Germany, as the name indicates, is the cut-off part of Germany in the east, with an under-construction wall going through the city of Berlin in particular. The eastern zone was until recently a haven for refugees from Eastern Europe trying to flee the communist regime with Berlin being a possibility to flee into Western Europe. This has changed since the parting of East and West Berlin by the Allies who fear that allowing too much immigration from eastern Europe would prove a dangerous source of instability. In no time, Eastern Germany has set up its own Soviet supported government and declared independence from Western Imperial Germany as the "Democratic Republic of Germany", under heavy fire of the civilian population in all major cities, including the city of Dresden, just barely on eastern territory. Up to date, hundreds of refugees try to flee from East Germany every week and military and civilian analysts see a great conflict potential if this continues. Voices are becoming loud on why the Allied Nations seemingly do nothing but on the contrary help the establishment of the "eastern zone" as it is already infamously named. Allied officials remain silent and the western German government has already decreed to change its location away from Berlin (to the protests of the German Imperial Family who had lived there since the Hohenzollerns acquired it in the medieval era), away from the direct "danger" to another city in the west, with Hannover, Magdeburg and Munich being possible host cities, among others. The eastern government's first plan in the meanwhile is to establish a health care system supposed to be better than Allied programs, as well as try to rebuild cities destroyed in the war. Why they require tanks and armed infantry in the devastated areas for this remains open, but Soviet construction crews seem earnest and honest in their intentions, having rebuilt most of the destroyed buildings and constructed new ones in many places. To display its contempt for the Hohenzollerns, the DDR has turned the properties of the Kaiser and his family in their lands into public museums in one of the first shots of what became an amusing series of cheap shots between the East German President and Kaiser Louis-Ferdinand. Finland Due to the Finno-Russian border's close proximity to the important city of Leningrad, Finland had been one of the first countries to fall under the Soviet invasion during both of the great world wars. While in the WWII Finland was successfully liberated by the Allies, WIII ended up differently.The allied attempts to liberate the country via sea were stymied by skillful soviet naval defence in the Baltic sea, and advancement by land from Lapland fared no better. And even though the remnants of the Finnish defence forces attempted to help the allies with guerrilla warfare, the allies were forced to ceasefire at this point, and Finland was left to soviet hands along with the rest of the eastern side of Europe. The current government was replaced with a Soviet-minded communist government, and the defence force was disbanded. This turn of events did not sit well with all of the Finns.The country had already been part of the Russian empire for a hundred years, and many would not want to give up the independence they had gained only a little more than 50 years ago. Some accepted the occupation and learnt to live with it, hoping Davidova's new system would bring them some of the red plenty, which the Soviets are indeed starting to bring, with fears of a repeat of Stalin's policies proving unfounded (though many Finns lament that Soviet industries aren't quite as clean as Allied ones). Others did not and began a immigration wave to west towards Sweden, where many of those who had been evacuated there during the wars already resided. The Soviets are attempting to limit this movement wave to prevent brain drain. In either case, the allied nations had lost credibility in the eyes of the Finns. There are some among the movers, nationalists and patriots, who wish to see their country free once more, that move further west to join the freedom guard of the Confederate Revolutionaries (among them a certain enthusiastic warmonger by the name Lauri Törni). They hope, that by helping the Confederates in expunging the Allies from America, the favor will be returned to them by the Americans with help to remove Soviet occupation from their own country. Guinea Guinea-Bissau Hungary "He who is not against us is with us." ''- Janos Kadar, General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party'' Hungary is widely regarded as a curiosity within the Eastern Bloc. Granted autonomy after a brief occupation by Soviet forces during WWIII, the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party elected Janos Kadar as General Secretary. A liberal, at least compared to most Soviet leaders, Kadar instituted reforms unheard of in the Soviet Union until Davidova came to power, such as allowing farmers to own large plots of land. As a veteran communist tortured under past Hungarian military dictatorships, Kadar never organized a secret police along the lines of the KGB. In fact, freedom of speech and artistic expression are more closely safe-guarded under communist rule than they were under previous regimes. It is widely anticipated and hoped that Premier Davidova of the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc leaders will follow the example of the "happiest barrack in the Communist camp", although recent activity in Czechoslovakia suggests this title might be transferred to that nation and Davidova is doing her best to follow his lead; even as more conservative elements of the Soviet Union have to be dragged kicking and screaming to Davidova's new policies. . However, one complaint that could be made of Kadar is that he is somewhat naive. In spite of AVH intelligence reports that prove otherwise, Kadar believes that Hungary is unlikely to face attack anytime soon. Bordered by Allied-occupied territories to the west, he maintains that they would "rather attack the USSR than our humble little republic". To that end, he spends relatively little on the military, at least compared to other Soviet-affiliated nations, claiming that the Soviets would do the bulk of the fighting. Unsurprisingly, the Hungarian military is mainly made up of Soviet leftovers from WWII, with tank divisions consisting largely of Anvils and Tesla Assault Guns, although the infantry divisions tend to be more modern. Thanks to the lacklustre military and tied-down police, hundreds of refugees flee to the West through Hungary, where border laws are hardly enforced, (interestingly, most of the immigrants in question are not even Hungarian; most come from other Eastern European nations where the communist leaders are not nearly as humane and are slower to follow Davidova's lead, often even resisting her). Even increasing numbers of shootouts and skirmishes between Hungarian conscripts and Soviet Hammer Tank patrols with unidentified black-clad figures and vehicles in the southern regions of the country do not faze the idealistic leader. Iran Communism came to power in Iran during the previous war under the direction of Shir Farahn before World war two began. He rallied his countrymen under the saying: "If destroying tradition is what allowed Russia to stand up to those who would enslave her, then we shall follow her example to regain the glory that has been lost to us since ancient times." Just before the start of World War III, several western reporters were invited to the country, and were shocked. Everything was surprisingly clean and orderly as well as tesla powered. Farahn personally credited sympathetic scholars at the University of Moscow for the technology. Law was based on the ancient Islamic model but with punishments greatly toned down to meet modern standards of acceptable behaviour. Women had full rights, and finally the thing Farahn was most proud of was a massive medical university complex, declaring that the foundation of modern medicine was put down by ancient Arab scholars so it is only fitting that they work their way to the forefront again. During World War III, Iran mostly stayed out of the war beyond it's participation in the North African and middle eastern theaters. While they continued to sell substantial quantities of oil and medicine to Moscow and helped train the Red Army in desert warfare, they were too low priority a target for the Allies. The Allies were also worried that any action against them would anger them enough to move into a total war footing, which would have been disastrous.. After, in an effort to further expand their influence, Iran declared that their massive medical infrastructure would accept western students that didn't have the financial means to join what the Iranians called "The Elitist Western Educational System." Despite still being uninvolved with the larger war with the Allies, being generally quiet with its rhetoric, the military has been kept quite busy with recent upswings in activity from the GLA, and other more mysterious foes which in turn has led them to commit more forces to friendly states in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, which is quietly appreciated by the Allies in Saudi Arabia for it keeps the GLA from committing all their forces to the Saudi Civil War. Despite this like Uruguay Iran is considered by many a successful example of communism and is believed to be the inspiration for the new policies of Davidova and the policies in Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Not everything in Iran is perfect however. Its occupation of Eastern Iraq has caused it to aquiare a significant insurgency problems, a fact not helped by centuries of Persian-Arab conflicts. Ivory Coast Laos Overshadowed by the conflict in Vietnam to the east, Laos is the setting of an equally violent civil war. With King Savang Vatthana and Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma of the Royal Lao Government on one side and Prince Souphanouvang and Kaysone Phomvihane of the Pathet Lao on the other, political and military analysts wonder how a victory for either side would affect the war in Vietnam. Thus, many factions have intervened in the conflict, with the Allies and South Vietnamese and the Soviets and North Vietnamese offering aid to the Royal Lao Army or Pathet Lao respectively. The North Vietnamese have been particularly involved, supplying the Pathet Lao and invading the country in 1953 and 1959 at their behest. Based in tunnel complexes in the Viengxay caves of the northeastern Houaphanh Province, the Pathet Lao guerillas hope to turn the Kingdom of Laos into a Marxist nation, although with more influence from North Vietnam than the Soviet Union. In spite of this open admiration for the murderous policies of Ho Chi Minh, many believe there is hope that a communist Lao government won't be as oppressive as North Vietnam. The Royal Lao Government, on the other hand, has had a more complicated recent history. Following a neutralist coup in 1960 by Captain Kong Le, the ACIP-backed General Phoumi Nosavan in an attempt to restore the pro-Allied, rightist government in Vientiane. However, Nosavan ran afoul of the Allies when he refused to form a coalition government with the neutralist faction, leading to them cutting off funding and arms. He consented to forming such a government after that, only to try and seize control again in 1965 to no avail. Internal struggles between the rightist and neutralist factions continue to this day, with King Vatthana most vocally courting the Allies and Prime Minister Phouma urging for neutrality when the civil war ends. Regardless, the Allies, and to a lesser extent, the South Vietnamese continue to support the Royal Lao Government, directly by running bombing missions throughout the country against the Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese Army and indirectly through the use of private contractors like Legion Security and FutureTech or guerrilla groups like the largely-Hmong "Secret Army", under the leadership of Vang Pao. It is unknown what the neighbouring Atomic Kingdom of China makes of the Laotian Civil War, as well as how the country fits into their designs. If the Kingdom's attack on Burma is any indication, it seems both the Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government have much bigger things to worry about, and might even have to fight together against a common foe. Liberia North Korea Having come out of the other side of the Korean conflict during WW2 a great deal more intact, economically and politically, than the South, North Korea (officially known as "The Democratic People's Republic of the Nicer Half of Korea" or simply Best Korea) is currently an economic and military powerhouse with deep ideological ties to the Soviet Union and Communist China waiting to flex its muscles. In addition to supporting Red Chinese efforts by providing a stable base of operations and a manufacturing base much the same way Allied India assists Blue China, North Korea is considered one of the most stable and prosperous Communist nations, in part because it is currently a great deal better off now under communist rule. As the new Soviet Premier begins reaching out to allies, she has contacted North Korea, hoping to be able to count on their famed Commando divisions in exchange for forwarding the cause of Korean unification. However, the DPRK is threatened by the rising Atomic Kingdom of China. Although Kim Il Sung commands more troops than the new power in the region, he is still terrified of what their technology can do to level the playing field. His hatred of Blue China as well as the Allies prevented his reunification of Korea in WWIII make him a strong ally of the USSR. However, it is questionable if Kim Jong Il will be as virulantly supportive. North Vietnam When the French abandoned their colonial designs on Indochina at the urging of the other Allied Nations, they left behind the nations of Cambodia, Laos and a Vietnam split in two. Born into the turmoil of WWII in the 1950s, North Vietnam immediately found itself at odds with it's southern cousin. A Marxist state supported by the Soviet Union and until-recently, Red China, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, under the leadership of the elderly-but-shrewd Ho Chi Minh, made reuniting with the capitalist State of Vietnam, supported by the Allied Nations, it's top priority. This goal encountered a major setback when the Empire of the Rising Sun, driven by visions of a "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" invaded during WWIII. The two Vietnams were forced to work together to drive out the Imperial aggressors, fighting valiantly with improvised weapons and vehicles left behind by the French against the weapons and advanced mecha of the Japanese. For a moment, it seemed the Vietnamese people would finally be united. Unfortunately, as soon as the Imperials left, Ho resumed pursuing his ambitions of a unified, communist Vietnam. Inspired by Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong (both in the process of being discredited within the Eastern Bloc), the North Vietnamese leaders sought to make their idealistic-but-flawed vision of communism a reality. Agrarian reforms, such as land redistribution, led to hostility towards landlords and well-off farmers and peasants, who became victims of violence and even mass murder. Intellectuals were targeted too, with many being encouraged to criticise the government only to wind up in prison. It was this vision that Ho sought to bring to South Vietnam; if Vietnam were united under the Democratic Republic's flag, then the Vietnamese people could work fully with the Soviet Union and her allies to export revolution and combat the evils of imperialism and colonialism across the world. Nothing would stand between Ho's Communist Party of Vietnam and this goal, as the thousands of slaughtered "enemies of the people" attested to. The largest recipient of COMECON military and economic aid following East Germany, the North Vietnamese continue to rely heavily on the USSR and the Eastern Bloc at large. The loss of Red Chinese aid, on account of the overthrow of that nation's communist government and the death of Mao, didn't affect North Vietnam too much, as most of the Chinese Communists' weapons were Soviet knock-offs anyway. Armed mainly by the Soviet Union (albeit with out-dated weapons and vehicles), the North Vietnamese in turn supplied the Viet Cong, a South Vietnamese group sympathetic to the northern cause, the Pathet Lao and the Khmer Rouge in neighbouring Laos and Cambodia, making North Vietnam a regional power. The tenacity and brutality of the North Vietnamese Army and their allies are testaments to the power of communism to whip up common people into frenzies. Even more, they have skilled commanders like guerrilla warfare theorist Vo Nguyễn Giap within their ranks, rendering the communist Vietnamese a formidable enemy to the Allies and an ally eagerly welcomed by the Soviets. Poland Poland has a massive aversion to being considered a "Soviet state", and many Poles in exile will gladly, and physically, argue the point. The Polish people consider what happened to them a betrayal by the Allied Nations in a desperate sue for peace with the Soviets. To this end, much of Poland is actively resisting the Soviet Union, while many quietly hide their nationalism until a safe day can be found. Poland first came under Soviet rule on the outbreak of WWII, when Stalin's forces rolled over the border regions in a dash for East Germany. The Poles, though fighting on horseback and using bolt-action rifles, resisted long enough for much of Germany to mobilize and make for the border. The penalty the Poles paid was high, and many were either starved, imprisoned, for even shot in the streets by the new commissariat. Poles in exile fared little better, since the lack of Allied social programs at the time meant a desperate scramble to become useful in any way. When WWIII erupted the Polish community's morale fell further. The Allies were pushed back beyond the English Channel, and worse the Soviets had instituted a new policy of competent commanders. Only when Manning started his gains after Brighton, the Polish underground and exiles hoped for a Polish liberation. Resistances drew up plans to fight back, and Poles serving with the Allies hoped that the rapid advance across Europe would liberate their homes. The Empire's assault crushed those dreams. Worn and bloodied, the Allies were forced to hold their plans for Eastern Europe, leaving the Polish resistances impotent and the exiles feeling betrayed. In Poland itself, the average civilian is at a cross-roads. While they despise the Soviets and what Communism has done to their nation, they also feel that the Allies threw them under the wheels to end the war quickly and build themselves up again. An understandable sentiment, if it had been at any other time. Many Poles, knowing the Union was in a state of turmoil and utterly leaderless, rebelled anyway and were cut down. Today, Poland is a shaking powder keg. The Soviets can practically smell the fermenting fighting, but currently hold their forces from absolute crackdown. Unwilling to give the Poles and Allies a propaganda victory, the Union has embarked on a "friendlier campaign, trying to wing the Polish people over with shows like that of an Anvil tank crew and their beloved dog and substantial investment to build them up above and beyond their pre-war state.. Romania Historically hostile towards the USSR, it is unsurprising that even the Soviet-installed communist government of Romania tends to act independently. The current General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, Nicolae Ceausescu, was not even bought before the Soviet Union for their approval. A nationalist, Ceausescu champions the reforms of Alexander Dubcek in Czechoslovakia and has announced plans to enact a form of communism "tailor-made for Romania", instead of constantly looking to the Soviet Union for ideological inspiration, which annoyed Cherdenko but pleased Davidova a great deal. Statements such as these have made him widely popular with the Romanian people, who have taken to calling him various terms of endearment such as "Conducator" ("Leader"), "The Genius of the Carpathians" and "Visionary Architect of the Nation's Future". Indeed, under Ceausescu's rule, food has been plentiful, consumer goods have improved in quality and, most surprisingly, overtures have been made to nominally hostile nations, like West Germany, Brazil, India and Australia, although the country's allegiance remains completely with the USSR and its allies and the parties of its new parliament all prefer alignment with Moscow over Brussels; with even merely social liberal and social democrat parties being suspicious of the Allies and their allowance of states like Spain or Italy. Of course, many still have reason to take issue with Ceausescu and the Socialist Republic of Romania as a whole. Feminists and women's rights groups within members of the Allied Nations (and no doubt, in the Romanian political underground) as well as Davidova herself bitterly criticize the "Conducator" for passing Decree 770, which restricts abortion and birth control to women over 45 who have at least four children, in addition to organizing a "menstrual police" which scrutinizes the activity of unmarried women and childless couples. The law is ostensibly to alleviate concerns about the over-aging population, but other actions of Ceausescu's government suggest an ulterior motive exists. Although the state media never discusses it, the Romanian government has allocated a significant portion of the nation's budget to military and security expenses. The Romanian Army, in contrast to Ceausescu's alleged model, Czechoslovakia, has a draft in place, more like the Soviet Union he claims to distance himself from. Soviet influence and equipment remain in the military obviously, but a move for modernization is in order. Ceausescu has ordered the military to phase out the aging WWII-era Soviet weapons and for Romanian industry to manufacture indigenous versions of modern Soviet equipment, such as Tesla Suits, RPGL-7s, Hammer Tanks, Sickles and as some reports claim, Apocalypse Tanks. The Romanian secret police, the Securitate, was quickly organised and equipped, cooperating with the Soviet KGB abroad, supporting the communist Partisans in Yugoslavia, and monitoring dissidence within the republic. No incidents of oppression or censorship have occurred (at least, in the open). Sierra Leone Sierra Leone's current government is the result of a revolution against the foreign diamond corporations who essentially owned the country after the French departed; with radical leftist movements organizing, and with support from Cherdenko, combined both a general strike and a coup that when combined with the support of sympathetic members of the military, resulted in a quick coup with relatively little loss of life. The communist party then set about industrializing the country with the help of offered MCVs that formed the kernel that would grow into the backbone of Sierra Leone's industrialization. Now quite well off, observers have commented that "the idea of a long running civil war in this country is just unthinkable". Uruguay The military dictatorship of Uruguay was overthrown in 1961 after a bloodless coup by the National Liberation Movement, a communist guerrilla and political movement that assembled control of the country and promised free elections the next year. Having reformed into the Communist Party, they gained support from the masses and were re-elected soundly in the elections of 1962. Allied observers surprisingly deemed the election results fair, despite protests from their neighbours that the Soviet Union had interfered. In fact, Premier Cherdenko had just risen to power and was completely oblivious about the Communist success in the small Latin American country. A socialist economy inspired by Iran was introduced quickly, and has provided relatively successful, the Communist Party never threatened in the elections and maintained strong coalitions with Socialist and Syndicalist parties and Communists over the Western world use Uruguay as a model example. Formal neutrality kept them out of the war, although everyone who knows a whit about diplomacy knows the neutrality is worth nothing, for Uruguay constantly ships supplies and designs to the Soviets. Brazil and Argentina maintain regiments close to the border, keeping the Uruguayans from doing any harm. Another interesting development in Uruguay is the large influx of refugees from Cuba, Nicaragua and Chile. Allied intelligence agencies publicly dismiss rumours of a secret network that safely transports communist leaders from these countries under assumed names and false information, but scrutinizes them behind closed doors. Some agents even suspect Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and his cronies Ernesto Bella and Francisco Scaramanga, Nicaraguan communist operatives Daniel Ortega and Sergio Ramirez survived the Allied attacks on their countries and are living comfortably in Montevideo to this day. Nothing conclusive has come to the forefront, but still, the stories circulate. Former Albania Like its Yugoslavian neighbour to the north, Albania did not find itself in the Soviet bloc due to the actions of the Allies, and the Syndicate in particular; which looked to expand its network of "free states". Also, like its neighbour, the nation saw its status as a kingdom restored, although the Albanian monarchy is a constitutional one while the Yugoslavian monarchy is an absolute one. The reigning monarch, King Leka I, serves as little more than a figurehead, with the real power lying with the Allied-installed Agnes Bojaxhiu, a humanitarian who worked with the Roman Catholic Church, serving as Prime Minister (a move that, in hindsight was rather ill-informed given Albania's strongly Muslim population). A tiny, poverty-stricken nation, the Albanian Kingdom and the Allied occupational forces must not only develop basic infrastructure and services, they also must quell religious and political unrest. Long-standing conflicts between Eastern Orthodox and Muslim Albanians exist to this day, often requiring Peacekeepers to maintain order when violence between the two groups breaks out. Another major issue is a determined communist resistance, ironically called the "Democratic Front", led by experienced agitator Enver Hoxha. Close links between the Front and the Yugoslavian Partisans have led the Royal Albanian Army to cooperate with the Yugoslav military in crushing the insurgencies in the two countries. Also of increasing concern to the Albanian government and the AN is Cult activity on the Albanian-Yugoslavian border. Despite the best efforts of Albanian defenders and Allied Peacekeepers, the Cult seems stronger than ever, seemingly disappearing and reappearing at will, feeding off of those dissatisfied by the Syndicate's economic policies but are looking for something more than simple communism. China The People's Republic of China was first formed from the northern regions of China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and its chairman, Mao Zedong. Unfortunately, having been formed in the middle of a civil war between the forces of Communism and the forces of the Republic of China, the entire history of the People's Republic would prove to be a bloody and violent one. The civil war went on unabated, at times barely noticed, at times very violently, from the 1930s to 1968, when a meteor with fissile material fell from the sky. Both the People's Republic and the Republic of China made "atomic" weapons and in the end annihilated each other, reducing the People's Republic to a shadow of its former self. Since then, the meteoric rise of the Atomic Kingdom of China has made it the dominant power in the irradiated wasteland that was once the Middle Kingdom, while the remnants of the People's Republic have turned to scavenging, banditry, and even cannibalism in order to survive. Chile In contrast to the happy example of Uruguay, the Chilean communism was shaky ever since Salvador Allende's government was elected in 1964. The army never liked Salvador from day one and the CIA would constantly work against his attempts at creating popular socialism. With the officers decimated by CIA bribery, Chile's army was in a sorry state when war broke out in 1965. A few months after the Invasion of Poland, Argentina entered Chile from the south to restore it from Communist rule and gain credibility with the Allies. The Chileans put up a fair resistance, but the communist government was finally ousted in early 1967 as the Argentinean army captured Santiago and installed perfectly authoritarian-capitalist Brigadier General Augusto Pinochet as head of state who would go about enacting a number of ugly purges of any leftists in the country. The communists still ruled the north end of the country, where they remain as a guerrilla force. Cuba The communist revolution in 1959 brought Fidel Castro to power and communism to Cuba, bringing panic to the American people terrified of communists at their doorstep and helped increase the anti-communist sentiments in the United States, who isolated the island after World War II ended. Despite this, the island was to be used by the Soviets during World War III to stage an attack on Florida, which was barely averted during the Battle of Cuba. The battle resulted in the ousting of the Castro regime, which was replaced by an Allied-loyal interim government. The new democratic government has set forth to bring former communist leaders to justice. The Cuban Parliament, and more importantly, the Allied Nations, approved of a plan to allow the Ministry of National Security to actively pursue individuals "involved with the Castro regime". The only problem with the law was that it very loosely defined "involved", meaning one could be taken in by authorities simply because a cousin of theirs was a lowly bureaucrat or policeman for the communists. The result was many Cubans began to flee the island, with many going to Spain and Portugal, where the new government is lobbying for their extradition. However, conspiracy theories about an international underground network that smuggled top communist officials and personnel to Uruguay have been publicly denounced by Minister of National Security Antonio Montana. Mongolia Wedged between the Soviet Union and the Communist part of China, the Mongols had almost no choice in siding with the Soviets. However, due to a total lack of industry or army and the fact most of its people are either nomadic farmers or peasants, it has had very little presence in the Allied-Soviet wars. They were even totally ignored by the Rising Sun invasion. No contact has been made with Mongolia since June, despite a few weak attempts by the Soviets; however this has been largely ignored due to more pressing issues in Europe. Nicaragua Nicaragua, currently one of the, if not THE most prosperous of the countries in Central America, has a long history of running from crisis to crisis and from dictatorship to dictatorship in the recent decades until it gained full support by the Allied Nations. For much of the known 20th century, the country was ruled with an iron fist by the Somoza family, with support from military, economy and at very early times even parts of the USA. The Somoza family came to power as part of a US-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional, or the National Guard, to replace the U.S. Marines that had long reigned in the country. Anastasio Somoza García slowly eliminated officers in the National Guard who might have stood in his way, and then deposed Sacasa, his political enemy. In 1937, Somoza used the National Guard to force Sacasa to resign at take control of the country, and next to destroying any potential resistance due to his complete military control, he also controlled the National Liberal Party (LPN), in charge of legislature and judicial systems, thus allowing him complete control over the country. This changed when Nicaragua declared war on the Soviet Union on June 15th, 1952 and sided with the newly founded Allied Nations. The Allies refused to cooperate with Somoza, who soon regretted his decision when Soviet special forces landed in Nicaragua, taking out the opposition and overthrowing the government, initiating their own puppet regime under Luis Somoza Debayle, son of the former dictator and a plaything to Stalin and later Cherdenko. For the next 15 years, Nicaragua, like Cuba later on, was embargoed by the Allied Nations. However, after Cuba's communist regime under Castro was overthrown, the Allies went towards Nicaragua, overthrowing their government as well. The country gained its independence and quickly sided with the Allied Nations under new leader René Schick Gutiérrez, who pleaded for incarceration of the Somozas for revealed files about their crimes against the people. With the Somozas gone and with support of the Allies, Nicaragua quickly prospered and is now known as the most developed country in the region. The country is now a known host for research on natural phenomena such as earthquakes, with entire cities hardened against such disasters.